Princeton AROTC

[puddingman]

I am in the process of applying for an Army ROTC scholarship, and also applying to Princeton. Today I got an email from the Princeton Army ROTC scholarship and enrollment officer saying that I was competitive for admission and for a scholarship, asking me if I needed help with my application. The email had specifics about me so it wasn't just copy-pasted. Is this just a fairly common email? Does this mean I have a better shot of getting the scholarship? Would he possibly have any sway over admissions at Princeton?

 

[AROTC-dad]

Top Ivy ROTC programs, for obvious reasons have trouble meeting their recruiting mission. The letter is likely intended to encourage top students to considering Army ROTC so as to create a larger pool of candidates.

As far as influence over admissions? Probably not as Princeton has so many qualified non ROTC applicants. However an ROTC scholarship winner is a full retail tuition student and thus perhaps somewhat more attractive.

Bottom line is there is probably no influence but can't hurt.

 

[5Day]

As you know getting admitted to Princeton is not easy. If they wanted they could fill every class with students with perfect SAT scores and straight A in HS. But, they do not. You need something special. ROTC may give you that edge. Contact the ROTC unit. They already know you. Ask them for any advice they may have it enhance your application. Maybe they could make some suggestions to your essay. Listen to what they have to say. Like @AROTC-dad says it can't hurt.

 

[nikkuwadde]

Hey, I have applied to both Princeton and the ROTC scholarship this admissions season. I got the 4 year full tuition scholarship there. While I decided not take it at Princeton, the ROO emailed me and congratulated me. She also straight up told me it plays a role in admission. They point out ROTC kids to the admissions team. It's a bit like being a recruited athlete. I ended up being accepted at Princeton and several other elite schools, but I ended up taking the scholarship Georgetown instead (you can't beat D.C. if you are an International Relations major).

 

[Debler]

Puddingman, that email is probably a sign of good things to come for you. My son received similar emails, and as an ivy league ROTC recruiting officer told him, "ROTC is similar to football - we can't make the admissions office accept a particular student, but they sure do try to help us get the team we want." Let Princeton's ROTC office help you with your application. My son did not apply to Princeton, but to two other ivy league universities whose ROTC detachments sent similar emails and offers of help. He got accepted to both and is currently enrolled with a four year ROTC scholarship, and loves both ROTC and the university he chose. AND - the year prior, a kid at my son's high school did apply to Princeton AROTC, and he had a similar experience and was accepted to Princeton with scholarship.

 

[beepybeetle]

I am in the process of applying for an Army ROTC scholarship, and also applying to Princeton. Today I got an email from the Princeton Army ROTC scholarship and enrollment officer saying that I was competitive for admission and for a scholarship, asking me if I needed help with my application. The email had specifics about me so it wasn't just copy-pasted. Is this just a fairly common email? Does this mean I have a better shot of getting the scholarship? Would he possibly have any sway over admissions at Princeton?

I got the same thing from Yale's NROTC, except I had a physical letter, handsigned by the NROTC and AFROTC COs. I asked around a bit on collegeconfidential and from what I could gather, this ROTC letter thing is probably a new occurrence as the Ivy league ROTCs begin to really push recruiting. The Ivies have dumped a lot of money into ROTC now that they're serious about having the program back on their campuses, and these letters are probably a result of that. The recruiting officer over at Yale's NROTC also told me that they do notify admissions of candidates who they think are both competitive for admissions and who they think would flourish in the ROTC unit, so I'm guessing that there is some pull behind being an ROTC cadet/midshipman-select